I learned to make this cake about 10 years ago when I attended a baking class taught by Emily Luchetti in Berkeley, California. I don't remember much about the class itself, but I do remember loving the cake (and the other desserts) she made for us. Of course, I went home, signed cookbook in tow, and proceeded to make the cake for my family. They thought it was just a plain 'ole lemon cake but, as a lemon lover, I knew it was so much more.

There's an almost custard-like quality to this cake which I can only assume comes from the addition of lemon curd to the cake batter. The cake's appearance is so simple, but the taste just screams "lemon". It can take you by surprise if you're not expecting it. My co-worker said that it was so lemony that it couldn't be made from real lemons. But I assured her that no artificial flavorings were involved. Just the goodness of fresh lemons.

And I want to thank my dear husband for taking care of our meyer lemon tree so that it can continue to produce tons of juicy fragrant lemons year after year. I might complain about the abundance of lemons but it's better than complaining about not having enough. And there is something so satisfying knowing that we grew them ourselves.

When he pruned the tree last month, we got over 50 pounds of lemons. Yup, we weighed them. That's not bad for a couple of city folk with one tiny little tree. Our meyer lemons aren't pretty to look at but, boy, do they taste good! We had a lot of people willing to take them off our hands and the lemons were all gone in a blink of the eye. Hopefully this will be last time I post something lemon until next season's crop. Although I can't be 100% sure since we still have fruit on the tree.

Set the bowl over the pot of water making sure water doesn't touch the bottom of the bowl. Cook, stirring occasionally, until mixture is thick, about 10 minutes.

Strain the curd into a bowl. Place plastic wrap directly onto the surface of the curd (to prevent a skin from forming). Chill curd until cold (but it's okay to chill it until it's cooled down to room temperature).

To make the cakePreheat oven to 325F. Butter and flour a 9-inch round x 3-inch high cake pan.

In a large mixing bowl, mix together butter, lemon juice, zest, and cooled lemon curd. Stir in dry ingredients.

Using the whisk attachment, in the bowl of a stand mixer beat the egg whites on medium speed until frothy. Increase speed to high and gradually add the 1 1/2 cup sugar. Whip until soft peaks form. Gently fold the whipped egg whites into batter.

Spread batter into you prepared cake pan. Bake at 325F until cake tester comes out clean, about 50-60 minutes. Cool on rack and then remove cake from pan.

50 comments:

Oh, gosh, that cake sounds SO SO good. I adore lemons. We have a Meyer tree too (Southern California) so I'm always looking for new ways to use the zest and juice. In case you're interested, I also make a Meyer Lemon ice cream that is sensational. Check it out on my blog:http://tastingspoons.blogspot.com/2007/05/luscious-lemon-velvet-ice-cream-or.htmlDuring Meyer lemon season I squeeze and zest the right amount of juice to freeze so I can make this year around.

That cake looks and sounds good! And the way you describe how lemony it is and with almost a custard texture, I really want to try it! How lucky you are to have all those lemons grown in your backyard. :)

Your cake looks so moist and delicious! I love the idea of incorporating lemon curd in the batter. Thanks for posting the lemon tree pictures - it's a beautiful tree and a hard worker. What a bumper crop!

What a wonderful cake! Any advice from your gardener husband about transplanting/grafting a meyer lemon tree? We're finally ready to put my childhood home on the market. The cherry, apple and orange trees are long gone, but the meyer lemon stands proud. I would so love to keep a piece of it with me...

Barring that, I'm headed into Oakland tomorrow to pick a few from this year's crop to try your recipe.

This cake looks fantastic! I love lemon curd so this looks like the perfect reason to make more curd. After seeing pictures of your lemon tree, I'm going to go out and buy one next year, love the idea of having fresh lemons at your fingertips. :)

Anh - I always find myself going back to Emily's recipes. I really appreciate her style of desserts.

Carolyn - Meyer lemon gelato is a great idea. I am so coveting that Cuisinart ice cream machine.

Parker - I absolutely love meyers. It imparts a flavor and fragrance that is unmistakably lemon but with a certain je ne sais quoi.

Anita - Emily's books are my most used baking books.

Judy - Thanks! It's the power of food porn. I find myself craving all sorts of food when I'm blog surfing too.

Cynthia - Being a daring baker really forces me to practice in the kitchen. And like the saying goes, practice makes perfect. :)

Peabody - I took a lot of classes back then. I was still trying to "find" myself and decide if I wanted a career in pastry.

Tanna - Yes, I thank my lucky stars that I found such a great man (and with a green thumb too).

Meeta - It's a small tree since we're on a tiny lot in the city, but it's all ours. :)

Eatme_delicious - I've always wanted a meyer lemon tree and we were so lucky that this house had one in the yard.

Deborah and Andrea - Meyer lemons are almost the only fruit that we can grow reliably in our foggy neighborhood. How I wish I could grow tomatoes!

Lynn - Yes, it was a lot of lemons. A few were beyond ripe, so sadly they went into the compost bin.

Patricia - I've been trying my hardest to keep up with the tree but I don't think it's possible. But it's been fun.

Belinda - Dreamy is right. I might have to call it "Lemon Dream Cake" from now on.

Dolores - Keeping a bit of your family's tree sound like a wonderful idea. It would be like an "heirloom" meyer lemon. We've never tried it, but, in theory, grafting should work. I've read that the best way is to buy a lemon root stock that is meant for grafting and then graft your meyer cutting to that. Or if you don't mind a "mixed" tree, maybe try grafting your cutting to a 5 gallon dwarf meyer lemon from the nursery.

Amy - I love growing my own. I can just dash to the backyard and grab a lemon and continue with my cooking.

Tbtam - I think I would give up my lemon tree to live in Manahattan. So I think we're even. :)

Oh my goodness, I know you said you had a ton of lemons but I did not know you had a TON of lemons. If only I wasn't a lazy as* I would beg you for some lemons to take back with me to Richmond. Alice made lemon curd in class without putting it on a double boiler but over direct flame. She said she wanted to be daring that day...maybe we can ask her to join the DAring Bakers :).

Anonymous - He hoses off the tree once a week to remove any pests. He thins the branches every 2 years. He also (organic) fertilizes once a year (sorry, can't remember what time of year he does that). And whenever we can, we will remove some excess buds to redirect nutritional resources.

OMG - this looks amazing. One of our favorite breakfast treats at my house are oven pancakes spread with lemon curd. And scones with lemon curd. Just... anything with lemon curd. If I felt like being lazy and using storemade curd, do you have a sense of about how much the recipe made?

I am so jealous I cannot have a lemon tree as yours. I live in the middle of Canada. ( too cold ) However I did make your lemon curd cake and it is so good. I found it to be dense, perhaps it was my eggs whites...any suggestions?

Mary, perhaps with you lemon experience, you can help me. I have made lemon curd a couple of times (using different recipes and cooking methods) and it comes out having a metallic taste every time. Any suggestions?

Anonymous: I always use a vessel (to cook or store) that is non-reactive. Stainless steel, anodized aluminum, enamel, or glass are non-reactive. Using unlined copper, aluminum, or cast iron can give your lemon curd a metallic flavor due to reaction between the acid in the lemons and the metal. I hope this helps.

I made this cake last night and although the taste and texture were lovely, the cake fell in the middle while baking. Any suggestions as to why? I think my egg whites were spot on and I only opened the oven once.

oh I LOVE meyer lemons. Ever since I've been exposed to these, I'm hesitant to use regular lemons, especially in winter. I just know this cake is 100 times better with meyer lemons. But I might make it anyway ;-)

I just made this cake using meyer lemons I found at Whole Foods ;-) It was yummy, but my texture was sorta springy/rubbery, like how angel food/chiffon cakes can be. What did I do wrong? I think next time I make it I'll cut back on the sugar in the egg whites...

I just made this cake for Easter. It was really different and good. It has a bit of a denser consistency not unlike a coffee cake, and a little crumbly around the edges. It is rich enough on it's own without frosting- the powdered sugar was enough. I served it with a dollop of whipped cream mixed with lemon curd and sliced strawberries. Got a lot of positive feedback from family. It has kept well for the last several days- still very moist. I did use meyer lemons that I had and made the recipe exactly as written. The only aberation was that it took longer to cook than stated- about 70 minutes. Of note, my oven is not convection, so that may be the difference. I was in a hurry and since at 55 minutes it was still pretty wet inside, I turned the oven up to 350 for the last 15 minutes. It got a little browner on top than the photo- not bad, but not as pretty. I will probably try not to have to do that next time I bake it, I'll just allow for more time. I will definetely be making this again!

Wow. I had never really eaten lemon curd before - but I bought a jar as it was on offer. Then I tracked down a way to use it. So glad I ended up here. This cake is amazing. Really realy good. It has a quite unique consistency - almost chewy. Delicious.Another tip for a recipe like this that only uses the egg whites is the marvellous Two Chicks egg white in a carton (UK brand)as unless you want to make some custard or mayonnaise with the left over yolks, it is always great to not have any waste.

Oh yes, I know it is second best to use shop bought lemon curd - but if you do I found the whole jar (so about 1 and a half cups) was perfect!

Could you please give me an approximation of how much lemon curd this recipe yields? I was given a batch by a friend (just less than one cup it looks like) and your cake looks fabulous. Thanks so much!

Made this cake today- it was lovely and moist. Didn't have Meyer lemon but used store bought ones. Had made lemon curd as had leftover lemon juice from making lemon tart - used about 1.5 cupful for the recipe. I'm in the UK, so couldn't find cake flour but found a tip on the internet to mix 3/4 cups all purpose flour with 1/4 cup cornflour/cornstarch. Will definitely make again. Thanks!

I made this cake in a heart-shaped cake pan for our 24th Anniversary. It is AMAZING! To simplify the recipe, I used Curdelicious Lemon Curd, which I found online. It is the best Lemon Curd I've ever tasted and makes this recipe so much more do-able if time is short. Can't wait to try it with their Orange, Key Lime or Raspberry Curd! Thank you Mary! Brightest Blessings from Sedona, AZ*I am not affiliated in any manner with Curdelicious. Just LOVE their product!

The alpine strawberry (Fragaria vesca) is a cousin of the wild strawberry. It's sometimes simply referred to as alpineberry. I love to bake, cook and garden. My blog is a place to share my recipes and other tiny tidbits of my life.